Thoughts on Life, Love, Politics, Hypocrisy and Coming Out in Mid-Life

Friday, June 16, 2017

As Russiagate Probe Expands, Mike Pence Hires A Lawyer

Christofascist zealot - and liar? - Mike Pence

As a crisis management seemingly engulfs the White House, Vice President Mike Pence who has claimed ignorance on virtually every issue even though he headed Der Trumpenführer transition team, has reportedly now hired his own private legal counsel. To date, Pence's feigned ignorance has indicated that he either was utterly incompetent - e.g., he knew nothing of Trum BFF Mike Flynn's ties to Russia and foreign paymasters - or was lying. Given the Christofascist belief that lying is fine so long as it furthers the Christofascists' agenda, my money is on lying as opposed to incompetence and pretend ignorance. This is in complete accord with my experience of over 20 years where no one lies more often or more deceitfully that the godly right wing Christians. As Pence is lawyering up, Der Trumpenführer continues to run his big mouth and ignores the reality that he has created the majority of his own problems. Here are excerpts from the Washington Post.

A heightened
sense of unease gripped the White House on Thursday, as President Trump lashed
out at reports that he’s under scrutiny over whether he obstructed justice,
aides repeatedly deflected questions about the probe and Vice President Pence
acknowledged hiring a private lawyer to handle fallout from investigations into
Russian election meddling.

Pence’sdecision to hire Richard Cullen, a
Richmond-based lawyer who previously served as a U.S. attorney in the Eastern
District of Virginia, came less than a month after Trump hired his own private
lawyer.

The hiring of Cullen, whom an aide said Pence was paying for himself, was
made public a day afterThe Washington Post reportedthat special counsel Robert S. Mueller
III is widening his investigation to examine whether the president attempted to
obstruct justice.

A defiant Trump at multiple points Thursday expressed his frustration with
reports about that development, tweeting that he is the subject of “the single
greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history,” and one that he said is
being led by “some very bad and conflicted people.”

Trump,
who only a day earlier had called for a more civil tone in Washington after a
shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Va.,
fired off several more tweets in the afternoon voicing disbelief that he was
under scrutiny . . . .

“The legal jeopardy increases by the day,” said one informal Trump
adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss conversations with
White House aides more freely. “If you’re a White House staffer, you’re trying
to do your best to keep your head low and do your job.”

At the White House on Thursday, aides sought to portray a sense of
normalcy, staging an elaborate event to promote a Trump job-training
initiative, while simultaneously going into lockdown mode regarding Mueller’s
probe.

As Trump’s No. 2
and as head of the transition team, Pence has increasingly found himself drawn
into the widening Russia investigation.

Pence — along with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Kushner, Chief of Staff
Reince Priebus and White House Counsel Donald McGahn — was one of the small
group of senior advisers the president consulted as he mulled his decision to
fire Comey, which is now a focus of Mueller’s investigation.

He also was
entangled in the events leading up to the dismissal ofMichael Flynn, Trump’s former national
security adviser, who originally [purportedly] misled Pence about his contact
with Russian officials — incorrect claims that Pence himself then repeated
publicly.

The vice president was [purportedly] kept in the dark for nearly two weeks
about Flynn’s misstatements, before learning the truth in a Post
report. Trump ultimately fired Flynn for misleading the vice
president.

There were also news reportsthat Flynn’s attorneys had alerted
Trump’s transition team, which Pence led, that Flynn was under federal
investigation for his secret ties to the Turkish government as a paid lobbyist
— a claim the White House disputes. And aides to Pence, who was running the
transition team, said the vice president was [supposedly] never informed of
Flynn’s overseas work with Turkey, either.

In the meantime,
the Republican National Committee appears to be girding for a fight.

“Talking points” sent Wednesday night to Trump allies provided a road map
for trying to undercut the significance of the latest revelation related to
possible obstruction of justice. . . . The RNC also encouraged Trump allies to
decry the “inexcusable, outrageous and illegal” leaks on which it said the
story was based and to argue that there is a double standard at work.

As noted before, Pence's claims of ignorance have about the same level of veracity as those of Sargent Schultz in the old TV show, "Hogan's Heroes" No slight intended toward sex workers, but Trump, Pence and their sycophants make the tawdriest of whores look down right virtuous. And lest it be forgotten, 81% of evangelical Christians backed the Trump/Pence ticket.

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Out gay attorney in a committed relationship; formerly married and father of three wonderful children; sometime activist and political/news junkie; survived coming out in mid-life and hope to share my experiences and reflections with others.
In the career/professional realm, I am affiliated with Caplan & Associates PC where I practice in the areas of real estate, estate planning (Wills, Trusts, Advanced Medical Directives, Financial Powers of Attorney, Durable Medical Powers of Attorney); business law and commercial transactions; formation of corporations and limited liability companies and legal services to the gay, lesbian and transgender community, including birth certificate amendment.

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